Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev suddenly flew to the US to participate in the UN summit following the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ strike on Sevastopol with US-made ATACMS missiles.
According to Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk, “talks are planned with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and a number of bilateral meetings with the heads of law enforcement delegations of foreign countries taking part in the summit.”
The US has not made official contact with Russia since last year, with Kolokoltsev having been under US sanctions since 2018. Under US law, sanctioned individuals are banned from entering US territory.
In addition, on Tuesday, June 25, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder reported a telephone conversation between Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
However, military and political experts are considering two versions justifying Kolokoltsev’s flight to New York. The first one is the drawing up of preliminary drafts on settling the military conflict in Ukraine. In that case, Russian representatives will insist on the proposal recently announced by Putin.
Among the main points of the peace initiative were the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four regions where fighting is taking place, Ukraine’s non-aligned status, the lifting of sanctions, and the recognition of new territories, including Crimea, as part of Russia.
Currently, Russian troops have intensified their offensive in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian media, the AFU is under pressure along all sections of the front, with the gains of the 2023 counter-offensive nullified by Russia’s retaliatory offensive. As Moscow is now in a more favourable position, experts assume that Ukraine and its allies will have to make concessions to Russia if the conflict is resolved.
About Ukraine without Ukraine
For a long time, one of the main statements of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was that no one would discuss the future of Ukraine without Ukraine itself. This was actively supported and promoted among Zelensky’s administration and the Ukrainian authorities.
However, Kolokoltsev’s arrival may suggest a likely discussion of the draft documents without Kyiv’s participation. This could be explained by the perceived reluctance of the US to give the right to referee to its rival China, so that Beijing does not influence the outcome of the war in Ukraine.
Earlier, Chinese leader Xi Jinping presented his plan to settle the war between Russia and Ukraine. Putin supported the Chinese initiatives, noting that the Chinese leader had “a deep understanding” of the essence of the conflict.
Meanwhile, US opinion polls show an extremely disappointing outlook in the November election for incumbent President Joe Biden. Many politicians realise that the Democrat administration needs a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine now, as it will help reinforce the party candidate’s position in the election against Donald Trump, who is gaining popularity.
US-made missile attack on Sevastopol
The second possible reason for Kolokoltsev’s visit is the missile attack by Ukrainian forces on Sevastopol beach on 23 June. The incident injured 153 civilians and killed four others, according to a report by the local governor.
A number of military experts, analysing the footage, suggest that this may not have been an air defence action, but a purposeful bursting of the fifth missile in mid-air, as suggested by the direction in which the submunitions fell. In other words, experts insist that this appears to be a targeted act of terrorism using US-made weapons. Kolokoltsev’s visit and the phone conversation between Austin and Belousov may have been prompted by this very incident.
The Russian party, meanwhile, insists that such a high-tech weapon requires the involvement of US military experts for guidance and control. This could imply US and NATO military trainers’ involvement in the recent attack.
